[Johnny_Lim]

Is rūpakkhandha synonymous to nāmarūpa? Especially during an akusala-mūla PS cycle whereby one’s saḷāya­tana has made contact with the mind and runs backward to foster the defiled consciousness i.e nāmarūpa paccayā viññāṇa?

[Lal]

Answer to the question, “Is rūpakkhandha synonymous to nāmarūpa?” is no.

It will become clear in the upcoming posts. But the following is a quick answer.

Rupakkhandha of “old memories” can back to the mind when one just tries to remember that memory. For example, one can recall what one ate for lunch yesterday.
– That does not involve Paticca Samuppada steps, “avijja paccaya sankhara, sankhara paccaya vinnana, vinnana paccaya namarupa.”

We will discuss the mechanism for recalling past memories in the upcoming posts.
– It is essentially, “mananca paticca dhammeca uppaddati mano vinnanam.”
– But that requires more explanation.

[Lal]

I thought about the revision that I made to the post, “Difference Between Rūpa and Rūpakkhandha” this morning.

The original version was fine. I have restored the original version. My apologies for any confusion.

Please feel free to ask questions.

[Lal]

I just realized that since I just edited the previous post, it was not time-stamped with the revision. Thus, some people who had read about revising the recent post may not have seen it.

Basically, the original post as it was posted on April 24th does not need a revision.

[Tobias G]

Namarupa are generated via PS. But they are rupa, thus they belong to rupakkhandha, correct? Of course all we have experienced in our lifes also belongs to rupakkhandha. In the case of namarupa they come back to the mind as vipaka vinnana. Based on that experience we can add more vinnana and generate stronger nama rupa (again via PS).

[Lal]

Tobias asked: “Namarupa are generated via PS. But they are rupa, thus they belong to rupakkhandha, correct?”

This requires a somewhat deep analysis.

Namarupa are not in the rupakkhandha. But they are in the pancakkhandha, specifically in vinnanakkhandha. However, rupakkhandha (or any other individual khandha) does not arise separately from the other four khandhas.

In Abhidhamma, we have two categories: rupa and nama (vedana, sanna, sankhara). Those two categories are independent.
– It is the vinnana (our desires, hopes, expectations) that combine rupa and nama to “make living things.”
– When that happens we have the arising of pancakkhandha. Rupakkhandha is part of that.

That is another way to explain the difference between rupa and rupakkhandha. This is why it is important to understand that rupakkhandha is PERSONAL. One generates one’s own pancakkhandha, of which rupakkhandha is a part that cannot be separated from the other four.
– On the other hand, rupa are common to all of us. They are just “out there.”

This will become more clear when we get to pancakkhandha in the new series. But feel free to ask questions/discuss more.

P.S. A deeper analysis at: “Kamma Viññāna and Nāmarūpa Paricceda Ñana“

[Author]

Posts